Headbutt spam, Soul Remains, and an Anti-Magic Field — what’s your pleasure?
I am no longer afraid of the magic-slinging Scirvir inDemon’s Souls(at least in a cautiously optimisticHome Alonesense). He could absolutely take me out in the blink of an eye, but I’m going to put on a brave face the next time we cross paths in the Stonefang mines.
In lieu of committing to a fun but probably too time-consuming new run, I’ve been poking around theDemon’s Soulssubreddit lately,laughing at ragdoll hijinks,sympathizing with crushing defeats, and marveling at cheesy tactics that I’ll save for a rainy day.
Boss difficulty can really swing from one person to the next, particularly when New Game+ runs come into the conversation, and the same can definitely be said of black phantoms — some of them are no joke. In my original playthrough(s), which descended intoPure Black World Tendency-chasing madness, I died countless times to Scirvir.
Without the right know-how and prep, Scirvir — full name, “the Wanderer” — can be a particularly tricky threat in black phantom form. While he’s pleasant enough as a nonviolent human NPC, he’s one of two owners of theTalisman of Beasts, and as such,he must be destroyed. Scirvir comes into play forDemon’s Soulsplayers who are going down theWorldandCharacter Tendencyrabbit-hole in the name of trophies and glory.
Instead of crowd-sourcing some pointers at the time, I went with a brute-force approach, eventually grinding out a stressful, lucky, messy af win. Little did I know there are reliable strategies that can make Scirvir look like a total chump. That brings us to this recent Reddit clip — and a couple of other older cheesy strat videos that just slayed me.
As demonstrated bySifinBoots, if you’re okay with aSoulcalibur-style “ring out,” there’s a convenient pit nearby, and Scirvir can be highly susceptible to headbutts.Lots of ’em.
On NG+3 Screw this guy and that CTbyu/SifinBootsindemonssouls
This bold move — up/forward + R1 while unarmed — is never something I’d naturally try on my own. That’s the beauty ofSoulsgames and their tip-sharing communities.
Another strategy for Scirvir, as captured byOulmes, involves some cheeky Soul Remains (to distract him to a mystifying degree) and plenty of backstabs.
Things get even more disrespectful with this clip fromIvy Valmadrid, who uses theAnti-Magic Fieldmiracle to stop the fiend from casting hard-hitting spells.
So many potential ways to get revenge on challenging black phantoms, so little time. As a player who goes bygsterrsuccinctly put it: “This game is special.” I should replay it!
As more of you are able to get ahold of a PlayStation 5, I hope you’re (re?)discovering this game and can relate to the highs and lows of adventuring in such a brutal world.
